Microsoft’s April security update, released this week, patched 169 separate vulnerabilities across Windows, Office, and related products. Of those, eight were rated Critical, with 93 classified as privilege-escalation flaws and 21 as remote-code-execution vulnerabilities.
That’s not a typo. One hundred sixty-nine.
This is what Patch Tuesday looks like now. Every month, a wave of fixes goes out, and businesses that aren’t patched become easy targets for attackers who know exactly which vulnerabilities are newly public.
Here’s why this matters to you as a business owner, not just your IT person:
Unpatched systems are open doors. When a vulnerability is announced, it’s public. That means the people who want to exploit it know it exists. The window between “patch released” and “attack launched” keeps shrinking. In some cases, it’s measured in days.
Remote code execution is as bad as it sounds. A remote code execution flaw means an attacker can run commands on your machine without touching it, without you clicking anything, without your knowledge. Some of this month’s critical patches cover exactly that category.
Patching isn’t automatic, even when it appears to be. Many business devices have Windows Update configured to delay or defer patches. Servers often require manual intervention. Specialty software line-of-business apps, accounting platforms, and industry-specific tools typically update on their own schedule, entirely without anyone watching.
The fix isn’t complicated. It’s consistent.
A managed patching program means someone is verifying that updates ran, checking for failures, and addressing the machines that fell through the cracks. Not every update is safe to push without testing, and not every device patches cleanly the first time. That’s the work that doesn’t happen when patching is left to chance.
If you don’t know the current patch status of your business machines, workstations, servers, and remote users, it’s worth finding out before an attacker does.
Our Cyber Liability Scan includes a review of your patch posture alongside the other most common exposure points for small businesses. Takes about 15 minutes to set up, and you’ll leave with a clear picture of where you stand. Contact us here: https://www.rstechnology.net/contact-us/
